You Don't Have to Hide
by Three Faint Calls
Summary: Erik/Raven drabble based on the bedroom scene from X-Men: First Class.


**A/N: **So I was watching X-Men: First Class and I liked the chemistry during the scene between Erik and Raven so much that I started making GIFs out of it and then wrote a short accompaniment for one of them. Thought I would post it here just for the heck of it, hope you enjoy!

_You Don't Have to Hide_

Raven wasn't entirely sure what lead her to Erik's room that evening. It was a journey she had often contemplated making but never truly had the resolve to follow through with. But after realizing what a volatile situation they were in and that she had no way of foreseeing what might happen the next day, she decided that she didn't want to go into battle knowing she wasted her only chance with him. And so she found herself ensconced in his sheets, waiting for him to return from his conversation with Charles.

Perhaps it was a foolhardy endeavor; he had never expressed any sort of interest in her beyond a flattering fascination at her abilities. But he was so difficult to read that maybe, underneath his expressionless façade, he yearned for her as much as she did for him. And if he didn't, she had already been rejected once tonight, so would another dismissal make much of a difference? At least she could say she tried.

And besides, what had initially attracted her to Hank was his sweet and innocent nature. It was easy to entice a boy like him, who had very little experience with women and displayed it so openly with his nervous stutter and perpetual blushing. But he only wanted her as long as she maintained her altered form; as soon as she let herself slip back into the comfort of her natural state, she could see him recoil. And she didn't want to be with someone who couldn't accept her as she was, despite how effortlessly she could make him care about her as long as she maintained a human appearance. Even Charles, who accepted who she was completely, only found her physically appealing as long as she looked like a normal girl.

But while Erik may have never given away any attraction to her, he didn't seem to be bothered by her blue skin or yellow eyes. Which was the main reason why she had gone to his room late at night, shed her clothes, and curled up beneath the blankets to wait for him. She had never needed physical reassurance as much as she did now, and she craved his acceptance above all others.

The door swung open and he walked in, glancing at her momentarily before quirking a brow in reaction to her lack of clothing.

"Well, this is a surprise," he said, shutting the door behind him.

"The nice kind?" she asked, nervousness suddenly setting in under his calm, calculating gaze.

He looked away.

"Get out, Raven. I want to go to bed." He said flatly, walking around to the opposite side of the bed and turning his back to her.

She felt her heart clench unexpectedly at his indifference towards her vulnerability and blinked once to prevent tears from forming.

"Maybe in a few years," he told her, though from his tone she doubted that he really believed it.

She closed her eyes and transformed into a matured version of herself, knowing it was a desperate act but entirely past the point of caring.

"How about now?" she asked.

He turned to look at her, his expression impassive as ever.

"I prefer the real Raven." Erik said.

She reverted back to her previous state and noted the sudden flintiness in his eyes.

"I said, the _real _Raven." He told her, the intensity of his gaze threatening to consume her.

Trembling slightly, she let herself fall back into her mutant form, surprised to see the change in his expression.

"Perfection." He murmured, the slight huskiness to his voice causing an unexpected warmth to suffuse her cheeks as she realized that he did, in fact, want her. As she truly was.

The revelation somehow made her more exposed than ever before.

"Could you pass me my robe?" she asked shyly, unsure if she wanted to just leave with her fragmented dignity or to stay and follow through with her initial plans for the evening.

He glanced down at the garment and gave an almost imperceptible shake of the head.

"You don't have to hide," he said.

He sat down beside her, his close proximity causing her to subconsciously draw the blankets tighter around herself. As if noting this, he smiled slightly, looking at her with unanticipated affection. She found herself looking at the crinkles at the corners of his eyes and wondering what it would be like to kiss the upturned corners of his mouth and almost couldn't pay attention to his next words because of it.

"Have you ever looked at a tiger and thought you ought to cover it up?" Erik asked.

She grinned at the comparison.

"Well, no…" she replied, shaking her head slightly.

"You are an exquisite creature, Raven. All your life, the world has tried to tame you. It's time for you to be free." Erik said quietly, with so much sincerity that she thought she could feel her heart filling with happiness.

He leaned toward her and she tried her best to take in every detail of his face. His perfectly combed dark hair, slightly unruly brows, piercing blue eyes. His patrician nose, perfect lips, strong, clean shaven jaw and sculpted cheekbones. And then, just when she couldn't handle how beautiful he was any longer, she shut her eyes and closed the distance between them.

And when he kissed her, she somehow knew that her heart would always belong to him.

.


End file.
